william_marderness1 Posted January 7, 2000 Share Posted January 7, 2000 How can I go about testing color negative film using the zone system. First, I am wondering how to check for the proper film speed. Can I do this by finding a .10 exposure with a densitometer? What is the Zone VIII density I should strive for with color negative film? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephen_willard Posted January 10, 2000 Share Posted January 10, 2000 To determine negative film speed I use an ISO that produces a 0.10 density unit above film fog for the red reading only. You do not haveto worry about the Zone VIII placement for setting the slope of yourcharacteristic curve. This is because color negative film isdeveloped at its maximum contrast at 3:15 at 38 dc. This is, if youincrease the development time or exposure time the curve will notincrease in slope. The curve will move up evenly from toe toshoulder increasing in overall density, but the slope will not change(which means you cannot do expanded development like you can with B&Wfilms). So determine your film speed as noted and develop normallyand measure your Zone III density and that is what is supposed tobe. <p> I have developed a complete CC for Kodak Pro 100 negative film andfound it could record between 10 and 11 stops with almost a perfectstraight line CC. This is amazing because I have never seen any B&Wfilms perform this well. I have also been very successful at doingN-1 and N-1.5 contracted development without color shift instability. At N-2 instability was noted but whether the human eye could actuallydetect it, I do not know because I never did any field work at N-2. Unfortunately, Pro 100 has been discontinued and replaced by Portra. Iwill be testing this film and the Fuji negative films this winter. Ipray that they can perform as good as the Pro 100 has. <p> Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now